


Looking Glass

by lpmc94



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-03-07 04:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3161372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lpmc94/pseuds/lpmc94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When brought to the Crossroads, Lugh Adaar stumbles on something that will change him forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Looking Glass

**Author's Note:**

> *spoilers for What Pride Hath Wrought*

    And so the infamous witch led Lugh into room, the space now largely filled by a massive golden mirror. Oddly though, the glass cast no reflection, leaving it an unsettling grayish tinge. But, something grated across the mage’s senses, an echo of…a song. 

    “Morrigan, what in the world is that thing?” he queried.

    “This…is an eluvian,” she replied somberly. 

    “Yes, but what does it _do_?” he said, still mystified.

    “A better question, my friend, is where does it _lead_?” the woman evasively answered.

    With a surge of power, Morrigan cast forth her arms and in a blaze of light, the mirror came to life. The song the Qunari had heard before was now much louder, a low sound of untold power roaring through the air. It quite frankly set Lugh’s senses aflame with activity, nearly overwhelming him. And when Lugh watched Morrigan step through the portal, the man almost did not follow. But, steeling his nerves and taking a deep breath, he let his feet carry him ever closer to the light, letting the song become louder and louder. And as he passed through the gateway, Lugh experienced a terrible wrenching feeling, as if he was being moved and stretched across a vast distance. And then at last, it was over.

    As he stepped through the other side of the eluvian, he felt a sensation like running water dousing his body. He opened his eyes to a marvel. Thick, heavy fog cloaked the world around him, only broken by what looked like more eluvians, what could only be dozens of them. All were a different manner and shape, none two mirrors looking the same. Some small, others gargantuan, each mirror was a finely crafted masterpiece. Each was flowing with untold power, magic of a by gone age. Lugh could do nothing but gape at it all. 

    Morrigan watched him, raptor eyes shrewd and assessing, having noted the Qunari’s difficult passage through the mirror.

    “A sensitive, I take it?” the witch asked, voice oddly echoing into the endless space.

    “Is it that obvious?” he replied wearily.

    “Twas rather not hard to notice your pain as you passed through. These pathways were not intended for the non-elven, especially for those non-elven gifted with magic. Rest assured, the sensory overload shall pass, and your magic will help your body adapt.”

    Even as she spoke, Lugh felt his throbbing headache begin to recede. Looking around him, he could see the remains of long destroyed ruins, architecture totally unlike anything within modern Thedas.

    “Where are we?” he wondered aloud.

    “If this place had a name, it has long been lost. I call it the Crossroads, a nexus of every eluvian, where ever they might be.”

    “So,” he said, turning to her, “why are we here?”

    “To understand that which Corypheus seeks since you have denied him control of the Anchor. This is not the Fade, but it is extremely close to that plane of reality. With enough power, one could tear down the ancient barriers that contain this place…”

    “…and enter the Fade for real. Shit.” he said. 

    “Precisely. What I understand is that there are many elven ruins within the Arbor Wilds, one of which undoubtedly still holds a mirror much like my own. Now you understand what is stake.”

    With this she turned back towards her own eluvian, only stopping when Lugh bade her wait. 

    “Yes?”

    “Where do they all go?” Lugh asked, still utterly enraptured.

    Here, a quiet smile fell on her face. “Some lead to other places in between, like this Crossroads. Others lead to ruins within Thedas. But there are some that lead to other worlds, other realities, other states of being. The keys to unlocking those Great Mirrors have all been lost…”

    Her voice trailed off as she watched Lugh walk, as if entranced, towards an enormous inert eluvian, one decorated elaborately with gold and carvings within the wood. Lugh could not stop himself and felt no desire to stop heading towards it. He felt…called to it. It whispered a song to his heart, one that spoke to the very fiber of his being. 

    As he grew near, he reached a hand out to place a single finger on the glass and—found himself in another world. For a moment of time, Lugh found himself, hand still outstretched, in a bustling city ruled by a sunset sky. Strange, decadent clothing were worn by men and women of all shades and colors. Architecture the likes of which had never been seen stood before his eyes. And in the distance lorded a crystalline palace that reflected the perfect colors of the sunset. Dotted around the area were flags that bore twin hawks, their claws filled with arrows. Deep in his heart, Lugh perceived that this place was nowhere in Thedas.

    But all of these wonders were not that which truly captured his attention. For standing directly in front of the Qunari, with his hand outstretched just like Lugh, was another man. He was a tall humanoid creature, with dark skin and a massive muscular appearance. Sable heavy armor fixed with the twin hawks hung upon the other man like a second skin. A bejeweled sword hung at his wait, glowing faintly with light. Upon his back was strapped a staff of black wood, the crystal adorning it aglow with eldritch energies. Underneath a brow crowned by a silver circlet were a pair of crystalline eyes of a cerulean hue that… _no, could it be_?

    Tears slid unbidden down Lugh Adaar’s face as he watched his counterpart stare back at him, the other’s eyes too becoming misty. And then, both smiled, faces filling with an almost ecstatic joy and longing. The Qunari found himself laughing in unabashed happiness. But as they both recognized these feelings, the glimpse at another world ended, leaving them with a blank grey glass that bore no reflection. Torn from his glimpse, Lugh's joy vanished like a wisp of smoke. And before long, he found himself pounding on the mirror with his fists, desperate to see that which lay beyond. 

    Lugh felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around quickly, breathing rapidly and his heart pounding. He looked down to see yellow eyes staring back, contemplative and yet filled with sad understanding. Seeing the tears upon his face, Morrigan took the man’s arm and slowly walked the docile mage back through her mirror and into their home reality. 

————————

    That night, the qunari could do nothing but look up at the sable sky, watching the stars dance their way across the night. Arms silently wound around his waist, and on his neck he could feel a mouth graced with delectable stubble kiss and nibble the skin. Lugh’s Templar had come to comfort his silently distraught lover. 

    “What is wrong, my love?” Cullen rumbled, deep voice piercing the still night.

    “It was like a dream,” the other whispered, mind utterly fixed on the world he had seen.

    “What do you mean?” Cullen replied, turning his lover to face him.

    He looked up to see that silent tears were running down from Lugh’s azure eyes. 

    “I saw myself, but it wasn’t me. It was a different me. A different world, a different life. And I just felt this sense of kinship out of nowhere, like I was coming home to a piece of myself that I had long forgotten…” Lugh babbled, the words coming out in a rush. “But now it’s gone…”

    At his words, Cullen was left mystified and unsure how to comfort the other man. He had had no idea that allowing Lugh into the eluvian would ever such a powerful impact. All he could was hold onto his lover as he slowly walked them both to the bed to lie down. 

    As Lugh slowly cried himself to an exhausted sleep, he whispered, “…and now I just feel bereft.”

    These words sent a pulse of pain through Cullen’s heart. Not pain borne of himself, but a sympathetic pain to what his lover must feel. While their circumstances might have differed, after Kirkwall, Cullen knew how it felt to be cast adrift and feel a void in one’s heart. And to that end, the man vowed to fill the emptiness in the Qunari’s heart, never letting him feel that loneliness ever again. 


End file.
